"Are we at risk of being 'bureauCATS?".

Let me tell a story of a king and the royal cat. The King held court regularly with his advisors to discuss important matters. During court, a particular cat in the palace would wander around. This irritated the King because he was allergic to the cat's fur. He immediately ordered the cat to be tied up at the doorway. This practice went on for a long time. The King was happy and the cat was happy too. It got used to being tied up while the King's court was in session. With time, the King grew old and passed away.

A new King sat in court with his new advisors. Though the new King was not allergic to cat fur, the royal advisors continued to have the cat tied up during court sessions. After some time, the cat also passed away. The royal advisors panicked. Then one of them had a flash of inspiration – get a similar-looking cat. They hunted around the kingdom, found one and tied it at the doorway. This tying of the royal cat became an indispensable palace tradition.

This tradition may sound silly. Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we also have held onto rules and practices for no rhyme or reason. Are we at risk of being "bureauCATS"? BureauCATs lack purpose except to uphold rules and regulations that may not have meaning and only result in building walls. We certainly do not need BureauCATS who maintain walls around their minds.

We need BureauPRENEURS who balance rules and outcomes with an eye for creating value for the organization. BureauPRENEURS see themselves not merely as regulators but primarily as facilitators.

Prof Shih Choon Fong,
President, NUS,
"The Changing Educational Landscape in a
Globalizing World: Re-making
the University."

w.t.f.